Prince Harry Unveils the Key Reason Behind the Royal Family Rift

The Duke of Sussex will discuss his falling out with the royal family in a forthcoming phone hacking documentary.

On Thursday, July 25, Prince Harry will talk about his “mission to continue his fight to expose the illegal tactics of Britain’s tabloid press” on ITV’s Tabloids On Trial.

The Duke is asked if “destroying the relationship” with his family was a result of his resolve to sue newspaper publishers during a sit-down interview with Rebecca Barry of ITV News.

“Yes, that’s a crucial aspect of it,” Harry answers. “But, you know, that’s a difficult question to respond to because the press attacks me mercilessly for anything I say about my family.

“I’ve been very clear in saying that action must be taken on this. If we could do it as a family, that would be nice. Again, from a service perspective and in a public capacity, I think these are the things we ought to be doing for the greater good. But I have my own motivations for doing this, you know.”

“What do you think of their decision not to fight in the way that you have?” Rebecca asks the Duke.

Harry responds, “I believe that everything that has transpired has revealed the real situation to the public. The mission has not ended for me, but it has, in fact. As you say, it’s contributed to a rift.”

The father of two, who is currently living in Montecito with his spouse Meghan and their two kids, Princess Lilibet, age three, and Prince Archie, age five, reached a settlement in February with Mirror Group Newspapers.

Harry filed a lawsuit against the newspaper publisher, alleging that journalists working for the company were involved in illegal activities such as using private investigators for illegal purposes, “blagging,” or obtaining information by deceit, and phone hacking.

The judge determined that MGN engaged in “extensive” phone hacking in general between 2006 and 2011, “even to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards. As a result, the judge awarded him £140,600.

The Daily Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., is facing legal action from seven prominent plaintiffs, including the Duke, on charges that it either conducted or commissioned illegal information gathering.

A full trial for Harry’s lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the company that publishes The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, is scheduled for January 2025. The lawsuit concerns alleged illegal information gathering, not phone hacking. The claims are refuted by the two newspaper publishers.

The Daily Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., is facing legal action from seven prominent plaintiffs, including the Duke, on charges that it either conducted or commissioned illegal information gathering.

A full trial for Harry’s lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the company that publishes The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, is scheduled for January 2025. The lawsuit concerns alleged illegal information gathering, not phone hacking. The claims are refuted by the two newspaper publishers.